The Book of the People (or simply the Book) is the ancient fairy holy book created by King Frond that lists the People's secrets, traditions, and powers. It is very much like a bible to the fairies.
First Appearance[]
In the first book, Artemis Fowl II reads the Book of the fairies. Artemis gained the information about the possible whereabouts of a fairy with such a book from a man named Nguyen Xuan, who responded to an Internet query that Artemis had posted. Artemis then took the Book from a Fairy healer, who traded a half hour of looking at the Book for her life and the return of her magic. Artemis Fowl II uses the Book against the People for their gold.
Characteristics[]
If someone touches a copy of the Book without the permission of its owner, it spontaneously combusts. It is described as a "tiny golden volume the size of a matchbox". It is inscribed in the fairy language of Gnommish, which Artemis Fowl II learns how to read fairly quickly. Soon enough, the young boy learns most of the secrets, traditions, and powers of the People.
Findings Inside The Book[]
In the Book, one can find: the rules that control the life of a fairy, how to complete The Ritual, the history of the fairies, official LEP procedures, and other vital things. One rule, for example, is the Rule of Dwelling.
Text in the Book[]
The Book, as it appears in Artemis Fowl
Translated, the book begins:
The Booke of the People.
Being instructions to our magicks and life rules
Carry me always, carry me well.
I am thy teacher of herb and spell.
I am thy link to power arcane.
Forget me and thy magick shall wane.
Ten times ten commandments there be.
They will answer every mystery.
Cures, curses, alchemy.
These secrets shall be thine, through me.
But, Fairy, remember this above all.
I am not for those in mud that crawl.
And forever doomed shall be the one,
Who betrays my secrets one by one
What the first few paragraphs look like in gnommish.
History of the people[]
The history of the people that Eoin Colfer chose to use was based on Irish folklore or Gaelic mythology. Most notably in the first book he described a race of the people as Tuatha D'e Danann. A race that had magic powers and prior to their arrival in ireland there lived another race(Fir Bolg) but the De Danann kicked them out. Later the De Danann were kicked out by another race symbolized by humans in Colfer's series, and there the myth degrades.
Film[]
Artemis Fowl II decoding a copy of the Booke
- "Read it and risk losing your very soul."
- ―A fairy to Artemis Fowl Jr.[src]
In the Artemis Fowl film, the Book is known as The Booke of the People. Artemis Fowl: A Fowl Adventure describes it as follows: "an ancient book full of important information about fairies. Every fairy, when they are born, is given a copy of this book. The Booke holds the answer to how to get fairy gold and is written in Gnommish."
In the final cut of the film, the scene involving The Booke of the Poeple. Available as a deleted scene on Disney+, it is called "Search for the Book." In the scene, both Artemis Fowl Jr. and Domovoi Butler travel to Ho Chi Minh City. There, the young Artemis tricks a fairy into drinking holy water in order to force her to hand over her copy of the book in exchange for the antidote: water from the Hill of Tara. Artemis copies it using his smartphone and the fairy then changes form from an old woman to a young one to scare him and Domovoi. On the plane, Artemis tells Domovoi that the book may be a way to get his hands on fairy gold. In the final version of the film, however, Artemis is not looking to get gold, but instead needs the Aculos to save his father.